Kicking It Real

33. broadway, Wicked, and learning to do it scared with Shanna Vanderwerker

Shanna Vanderwerker has one of the most full-circle careers in musical theater: swing in the Broadway company of Wicked, Dance Captain of the First National Tour for nearly five years, Jeff-nominated choreographer, and now a professor at Roosevelt University training the next generation. But the story behind those credits is anything but straight. In this episode, Shanna takes us through the rejections, the almost-quits, and the moments nobody sees on a resume, including being told she wasn't the right look for reasons that had nothing to do with her dancing, the year Wicked went completely silent, and how she rebuilt her entire career identity after leaving New York. We also get into what she teaches her students that she wishes someone had told her sooner, why diversity in theater still isn't where it claims to be, and the two rules she lives by that she'll leave with you at the end. Stay in the loop with me 👇🏼🤍 Instagram: @kickingitrealpod @potentiallygabby TikTok: @potentiallygabby Episode requests: kickingitrealpod@gmail.com Find Shanna here 👇🏼 Instagram: @shannavdance shannavdance.com [http://shannavdance.com/]

32. from Canadian competition dance to Harry Potter in London's West End with Laura June Ness

This week I'm sitting down with Laura June Ness: Canadian dancer, aerialist, actress, and content creator who packed up her life and moved to London with no job lined up, no guarantee, and a whole lot of belief that it was possible. She's now in the cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at London's Palace Theatre on the West End. We get into her full journey from competition dance at Canadian Dance Company to her BFA at Toronto Metropolitan University, to Norwegian Cruise Line right out of school, three years as a featured aerialist at Tokyo Disney Resort, Disney Cruise Line post-pandemic, and eventually the leap to London that changed everything. We talk about what it actually takes to move to another country with no job lined up, how the West End audition world works versus Broadway and why it's nearly impossible to get seen without an agency, body image culture in Japan and what it taught her about not absorbing other people's standards, and the 10% of her circle who didn't support the move and why those people aren't in her life anymore. We also get into burnout, scarcity mindset, why the performing industry trains dancers to be bad at business, and learning to advocate for yourself in the audition room. And she drops one of the best lines this podcast has ever heard: "I'm learning to let myself be the villain in someone else's story." If you've ever told yourself no before anyone else got the chance to... this one's for you. Stay in the loop with me 👇🏼🤍 Instagram: @kickingitrealpod @potentiallygabby TikTok: @potentiallygabby Episode requests: kickingitrealpod@gmail.com Find Laura here 👇🏼 Instagram & TikTok: @laura.june.ness YouTube: @laurajuneness

31. you're a human being, not a human dancing with Kathryn Morgan

In today's episode, I sit down with Kathryn Morgan, former soloist at New York City Ballet, YouTube powerhouse, and CEO of Kathryn Morgan Inc., to talk about what it actually looks like when your body becomes the thing working against you in a career that is entirely dependent on it. Kathryn shares her journey from booking NYCB at 17 and being promoted to soloist at 21, to gaining 40 pounds while dancing 8–10 hours a day, being dismissed by nine doctors, and ultimately choosing to leave one of the most prestigious ballet companies in the world to save her health. We also talk about starting her YouTube channel from a hospital chair during a four-hour blood test, building a platform that gave an entire generation of young dancers something they weren't getting anywhere else, and what her return to professional ballet at Miami City Ballet taught her about gratitude and perspective. Kathryn opens up about the body shaming culture still deeply embedded in ballet, why weight is always a byproduct and never the actual problem, and what directors need to stop doing immediately. If you're a dancer, a performer, or anyone who has ever had the thing you love most taken away from you, this one is going to hit. Stay in the loop with me 👇🏼🤍 Instagram: @kickingitrealpod @potentiallygabby TikTok: @potentiallygabby Episode requests: kickingitrealpod@gmail.com Find Kathryn here 👇🏼 YouTube: Kathryn Morgan IG: @kathryn_morgan Website: kathrynmorganonline.com

30. stop being a starving artist with Jason Pickett

This week I'm sitting down with Jason Pickett, dance educator, mentor, speaker, and the founder of No Starving Artists, to talk about the business side of dance that most people are too scared to touch. Jason breaks down why the "starving artist" identity is quietly keeping dancers broke, what private equity is actually doing to the competitive dance world, and why transparency and consistency are the two things that will outlast any viral moment. We also get into comparison culture, the parents piece nobody talks about, and why the bravest thing you can do as a dancer is just say what you actually think. If you've ever felt like being business-minded made you less of a "real" artist, this one's going to hit. Stay in the loop with me 👇🏼🤍 Instagram: @kickingitrealpod @potentiallygabby TikTok: @potentiallygabby Episode requests: kickingitrealpod@gmail.com Find Jason here 👇🏼 IG: @heyitspickett nsadance.com | heyitspickett.com

29. your mind isn't broken, it's protecting you with Kirsten Kemp

What if the thing holding you back isn't your technique, but something else entirely? This week I'm sitting down with Kirsten Kemp, high-performance mindset coach and founder of The Confident Dancer, to talk about the mental side of performance that almost no one in the dance world is actually teaching. Kirsten breaks down the difference between a high-standards environment and a toxic one, why "just be confident" is the most useless advice you can give a dancer, and what confidence actually means, because it's not what most of us think. We also get into why your mind has a reason for everything it does, and why the first step to changing it is curiosity, not criticism. If you've ever been told to work on your confidence and had absolutely no idea what to do with that, this one's for you. Stay in the loop with me 👇🏼🤍 Instagram: @kickingitrealpod @potentiallygabby TikTok: @potentiallygabby Episode requests: kickingitrealpod@gmail.com Find Kirsten here 👇🏼 IG: @kirsten_theconfidentdancer theconfidentdancer.com [http://theconfidentdancer.com/]